


The Mighty Nein, Protectors of the Innocent (When They Feel Like It)

by AsexualArchivist



Category: Critical Role (Web Series)
Genre: Gen, also this is after ep 26 but mollys fine somehow dont worry about it, based on a tumblr post ill link it in the description, brief mention of child abuse in yashas portion, if thatll bother you just skip over it dont worry about it
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-30
Updated: 2018-07-30
Packaged: 2019-06-18 16:11:43
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,927
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15489684
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AsexualArchivist/pseuds/AsexualArchivist
Summary: The Mighty Nein may not always do the right thing, but they do seem to have a soft spot for children in need.Word might just get around to the rest of the Empire about the Mighty Nein, a group who protects good children and punishes those who hurt children.(Based on a tumblr post by @falling-rhayne:here!





	The Mighty Nein, Protectors of the Innocent (When They Feel Like It)

**Author's Note:**

> what's up dont tell me if there's any errors i wrote all of this in one sitting and im so fuckin tired!!!  
> this was a lot of fun to do tho!!!!!  
> (also in this version mollys completely fine he died but its like not a big deal hes back ok. and you cant change my mind.)

**Yasha:**

Yasha felt a gentle tug on her cloak. She turned, expression guarded and hard, until she realized there was a child standing right behind her. A small girl, human by the looks of her. Yasha's expression turned to one of blank confusion.  


"Um," the girl started, shifting her feet. "A-are you... the storm lady?"  


Yasha's expression didn't change. Then she looked with alarm to find that there were tears forming in the girls eyes.  


"I- I heard about... about a group of heroes, I think... I think there were nine of them? And- and I heard that there was a very very strong lady, who had pretty eyes and pretty hair and a really really big sword, and-" the girl hiccuped, and now tears were trailing down her face in earnest. "And- they help nice kids sometimes!" She was sniffling louder, and Yasha looked around in terror for the rest of the group, for Jester, Fjord, hells, even _Beau_ would be better equipped to handle this. She was alone, though, and this little girl was crying in front of her, so Yasha did the only thing she could: she knelt down so that she was eye-level with the girl, and put a hand as gently as she could on her shoulder.  


"Shhh.... it is okay. Uh- yes, I am... the storm lady." She gestured to her big sword as proof, and a smile broke through the girl's tears.  


"Can- can you help me?"  


Yasha found herself nodding before she even had time to think. "What's wrong?"  


The girl sniffled a few more times before steadying her breathing. "Can... can you help me get away from a bad man?"  


Yasha's heart twisted. "A bad man? How is he bad?"  


The girl lowered her head, and Yasha felt rage overtake her body at the pained look on her face. No face that young should ever look that broken. "Well, he- he hits me, sometimes, and he hurts my momma, and-"  


That was enough for Yasha. She nodded decisively and patted the girl on the shoulder. "You don't have to tell me all of it. He does sound like a very bad man." Now, this was the tricky part. "I am very good at chopping off heads with this sword. I do not know if that is what you want for this bad man, but-"  


"Yes," the girl said immediately. "Yes, I want that."  


Yasha grinned. "Let's go, then." And she lifted the girl onto her shoulders as easily as she could lift her sword.  
If Yasha had a little bit of blood staining her clothes when she met back up with the others, no one mentioned it. No one mentioned the fierce smile on her face either.

**Fjord:**

Fjord had gotten mostly used to the whispers. Half-orcs were not exactly... treated kindly, in some places. It was an unfair stigma for him to have to bear, but there wasn't anything he could do about it.  


He still heard them, though, no matter how hard he tried to drown them out.  


Fjord was hearing whispers of a half-orc, a half man half beast hybrid walking among the villagers, as he and the rest of the Nein passed through a small fishing town. Usually Fjord could fit right in with these sea-faring types, but this town seemed to still be a couple of decades behind when it came to accepting orcs. He was trying to tune them out, humming an old sea shanty to himself and admiring some of the boats along the harbor, when he heard a different sort of whisper.  


"Is that... him? That half-orc man?" The voice was awed, almost reverent. "He looks just like Orin said he did..."  


Fjord turned around to see a couple of half-orc kids in ratty clothing looking at him as if he were a demigod.  


"Uh... hey, were you- were you talking about me?" He asked.  


The kids exchanged an excited look. They nodded enthusiastically.  


"Yeah! Yeah, you're Mr. Fjord, the best most famous half-orc in the country!"  


"We heard you took down a troll single-handed!" the other piped up.  


"And you were a sea captain just like my daddy was!" the other picked back up.  


The kids were swarming him now, bobbing up and down excitedly.  


"I heard you have a really really cool sword that just-" and here the child made a _whoosh_ ing sound, mimicking a blade forming in his hand and giving it a few practice swings, "-just, bam! Comes out of nowhere!"  


Fjord chuckled. "Well, I'm not sure about the other stuff, but the sword part's true." He summoned his falchion and let the kids ooh and ahh over it as it dripped seawater onto the ground between them.  


"You're so cool, Mr. Fjord!" one of the children said, sighing.  


Then they both looked a little shy, kicking at the dirt and averting their eyes. The other one spoke up after a second.  


"Um. I always wanted to- to be a hero. And do good things. And help people. But- most people are scared of me." Then he bared his fangs, as if to prove his point.  


The other child nodded, continuing where the other left off. "We don't see many people... like us around here. And I never even heard of a half-orc being a- a hero. So." The two children both cleared their throats, and Fjord did too, to hide the fact that he was starting to get choked up. "T-thank you."  


And they both pulled him into a tight hug, then ran off together faster than Fjord could follow.  
Molly may have made a few jokes about Fjord's red eyes when he returned, but everyone seemed to understand what had happened. They didn't push him, and Fjord made sure to put the memory in a sacred place in his mind, a place where it would never be forgotten.

**Beau** : 

"Hey! Hey, you!"  


Beau was shouting at two little shitheads, both giggling as they tossed her coin purse back and forth between them.  


"That's my _fucking_ money you little shits, and you better hand it over before I crack this stick over your head-"  


"Wait, guys!"  


Another small form materialized from the shadows, followed by another, and another, and another, until there was a small army of children surrounding the two that had taken her coin purse. Beau sighed, frustrated. Fuckin' great. Now she had to beat up a fucking battalion of children. She readied her staff-  


And fumbled as her coin purse was tossed back to her.  


"What kinda... what kinda mind games are you pullin', here?" she asked. She was still itching for a fight, her hands restlessly rapping against her staff in an arrhythmic tattoo.  


"We know who you are!" The kid who had spoken first stepped up, and gave her a small wave. She was dwarven, and looked to be the oldest of all the kids there. "I had some friends back in Hupperdook who told me all about you guys!"  


"Huh?" was all Beau could think to say.  


"You're one of the Mighty Nein, right?" The girl continued, earning shocked gasps and whispers from the children around her. Beau caught some of them:  


"Wait- the Mighty Nein?"  


"I heard they saved a whole orphanage from the terrible lady who ran it-"  


"-they protected my little brother's best friend from a mean Crownsguard one day-"  


"-and after the fight they got every child back safe to their parents! My friend told me-"  


"-they took out a whole fleet of them! It's true!"  


"Come on, guys, quiet down," the dwarf said. Then she turned to face Beau, looking anxious. "I'm sorry we tried to steal from you, Ms. Beau." Beau pretended not to feel a surge of pride at the fact that she knew her by name. "We promise we're really really good kids! We just- don't have a lot." And all the kids looked down with shame. Beau felt her heart melt in an absolutely stupid and disgusting way, and sighed. She hated having emotions.  


"It's alright, it's fine. I get it." She opened up her coin purse and quickly counted the number of children, giving each two gold pieces. "Just- try not to steal from people who can crack open your skulls with a hit, okay?"  


The children all looked at their gold pieces in awe, and nodded violently.  


"Yes, Ms. Beau! We promise, Ms. Beau!" Then they scampered away. Beau smiled. She could get used to being called "Ms. Beau."  


"Uh- can I-"  


Beau startled, and realized the dwarven girl was still there in front of her. Without her army of children, she looked more vulnerable. Scared, even.  


"Yeah?"  


"I THINK YOU'RE REALLY COOL AND PRETTY AND WHEN I GROW UP I WANNA BE JUST LIKE YOU I LOVE YOU BYE." And before Beau could react, the dwarven girl hustled off to join her friends.  


Beau pointedly ignored the warm feeling in her chest as she went back to join the others. 

**Jester** : 

It was a perfect morning to go skipping around the streets of the city, so Jester decided to do exactly that. She was on a mission, though: she had to find some pastries for her friends before they woke up. It would be such a fun little surprise! Jester imagined Caleb's face, as he tried to hide his joy, and Nott's unabashed excitement, and Beau's rough but heartfelt thank you, and Yasha's stoic gratitude and Fjord's surprised smile and Molly's absolute elation- Jester almost squealed to herself imagining it. She skipped a little faster  


"Hi!" a voice behind her said, and Jester turned to see a bright pink tiefling grinning at her with wide, pupil-less eyes. Jester grinned back.  


"Hello, little girl! What are you doing up so early in the morning?"  


"Buying some food for my family."  


Jester smiled wider. "So am I! I'm looking for pastries, do you know a good place to get some?"  


The girl nodded and hooked her arm around Jester's. They skipped off together in search of desserts.  


They soon came upon a little bakery that was just opening for the day. Jester pressed her nose to the glass of the cases and pondered her choices.  


"What do you think, little- I never asked your name!"  


The girl smiled. "It's Frilla," she said, and gave a little curtsy. Jester giggled and did the same.  


"My name is Jester."  


Frilla was holding the edges of her skirt in her hands, gently swirling it around her legs as she giggled. "I know who you are!"  


Jester tilted her head. "Oh? How's that?"  


"You're from the Mighty Nein," Frilla stated matter-of-factly. "The bravest group of fighters in the country who go around and help kids who are in danger! My big brother told me all about you." Then Frilla leaned in close, and almost conspiratorially whispered, "He likes Molly the best, but I think you're the coolest out of all of them."  


Jester leaned in close as well. "You know, you're right! I _am_ the coolest, the rest of them told me so," she whispered.  


Frilla nodded, eyes shining. "I knew it!"  


Jester ended up buying Frilla a huge cookie for herself, and a slightly smaller one to bring home to her brother. "You get the bigger one because you knew which of us was the best." Jester didn't think Frilla could grin wider, but she certainly tried.  


"Thank you so much, Jester!" Frilla said, and pulled Jester into a big hug.  


"It wasn't much, Frilla, it was just a cookie-"  


Frilla shook her head. "No," she said, eyes shining slightly with tears. "No, not just for that. Just- thank you for being a good person. It's hard to find good people, sometimes."  


Jester's heart thumped loudly in her chest as she nodded. This girl had wisdom beyond her years.  


After sending Frilla back home, Jester skipped back to the Mighty Nein with a bag of warm bread and a hot pie in her hands, along with a smile that was even brighter than her usual one. 

**Caleb** : 

It was a podunk little town they found themselves in, grimy and stinking and filled to the brim with dirty-faced children with eyes that were hollow and empty.  


Caleb didn't look too long at those eyes; he was afraid he would see something too familiar in them.  


None of the others said much as they trudged through the town, handing out a few gold pieces when they could. The mood was somber- it occurred to Caleb that this is what might have become of him and his family had the war started during his childhood and had he not been useful to the Empire. As it was, though, they were there, and he was here, and there was nothing for it except to keep going and not try to fix problems that didn't belong to him-  


He felt a tug on his sleeve, and tried not to jump out of his skin as a small boy looked up to him. He looked half-elf, and would have been lovely had it not been for the layers and layers of dirt covering him like a second skin.  


"You- you are- fire man," the boy said in halting Common. "The- _Zauberer_ , I, ah-"  


"I am a wizard, yes," Caleb replied in Zemnian. The boy sighed in relief and smiled up at him.  


"My brothers and sisters have told me lots of stories about the Mighty Nein but especially you, about how you can summon flame right in your hands!" The boy looked up at Caleb eagerly, as if waiting for proof. After a few moments of excruciating anticipation, Caleb sighed and lit a small fire in his hand. It licked gingerly at his fingertips, not even stinging. He extinguished it a moment later.  


"So it's true..." the boy said, awe palpable in his voice. "And- wizards learn spells from books, right? That is what my big sister told me when I asked her. So you just learn spells by reading and then you can make fire like magic?"  


"It _is_ magic," Caleb corrected, smiling in spite of himself. "But yes, I can read a spell from a book and memorize it, then speak the words and do the motions in the exact right way, and if I have the correct components I can make reality shift just a little towards what I would like it to be." Caleb stared at his hand, where the fire had burned just a moment before, for a long moment. Then he shook his head quickly and turned back to the boy, who was still looking in awe.  


"I- can I show you a little trick I learned?" The boy said eagerly. "I learned it from an old book that somebody threw out, I only could read part of it though." And Caleb watched as the boy closed his eyes in intense focus, and murmured some words while moving his hands slowly and deliberately. Then the boy opened his eyes and looked at his palm as a stuttering blue beam burst out of his hand, dying as soon as it left his hand. He frowned.  


"I'm still not very good at it yet," he admitted. Caleb shook his head.  


"You are coming along fine!" He said, feeling pride in spite of himself for this child that he had only just met. "In fact, I would go so far as to say that you have a natural talent for magic, friend." Caleb thought for a moment, then fished out his coin purse and carefully counted out his last five gold pieces. "One, two, three, four, five." He handed them to the child and smiled.  


"For you to get a spellbook," he explained. The joy that lit up the boy's face was almost too much for him to handle.  


Before he knew what was happening, Caleb was being pulled into a hug. He kept his arms stiff for the entire hug, but the boy didn't seem to mind. He simply thanked Caleb and ran on his way, presumably in search of a book of spells.  


Caleb felt lighter, somehow. It was a strange feeling, but he thought he might just like it. 

**Molly** : 

Molly was exhausted. True, that was his own fault for drinking like it was the end of days last night, but still. He was allowed to feel exhausted. He would allow himself that.  


So when a little boy and a little girl shuffled their way up to him, he was almost tempted to tell them to go bother some other gaudy purple asshole. He didn't, though. Molly managed a smile through the headache that was pounding in his head and addressed the two kids, spouting the first thing that came to his mind.  


"Well, what have we here? Two brave adventurers, on a quest? Well, surely, I will help however I can. Anything for a couple of heroes in need." He bowed deeply to them, eliciting a few giggles from the two.  


"We- we just saw your pretty horns, and..." the girl said, gesturing to the baubles on Molly's horns. Molly shook his head, causing them to tinkle against each other. Ah, sweet music.  


"We heard about you before," the boy answered sheepishly. He kept his head down low; Molly couldn't see his face. That was fine. No need to make the kid uncomfortable by demanding eye contact. Molly smiled brightly.  


"What kind of things have you heard about me?" Molly suddenly got a vague flash of fear that they were talking about... the _other_ guy who had had this body before him, but the two kids quickly assuaged his fears.  


"Um, my- my friend Tobi told me about these people called the Mighty Nein, who go around to all different towns and take care of the kids there if they're in danger," the girl said. She looked into Molly's eyes, hopeful. Molly's heart melted.  


"That's me, of course, sweethearts, the one and only Mollymauk Tealeaf, member of the Mighty Nein! Molly to my friends," he added out of habit.  


The boy spoke up. "Um, Mr. Mollymauk-"  


"Molly," he corrected.  


"Mr. Molly," continued the boy, "I, um. I heard you use those swords, and, your blood is all magic so it makes the swords all glow-y. That's what my sissy told me." He nodded to the girl, still keeping his head down, and now Molly could see the family resemblance. They could be twins.  


"Does that mean..." the boy said, uncertain. "Does that mean you have a lot of scars?"  


Molly nodded and gestured to his chest, eyeing the light purple crisscrosses of scar tissue across his body. "You could say that."  


"But- you're still... you're still pretty."  


Molly nodded. "I would say so."  


The boy looked up then, and Molly saw a huge scar crossing his face in a painful looking slash. The cut had irreparably damaged his right eye, and now it was milky white and blind. The boy offered a timid smile.  


"Maybe... maybe I can be pretty, too," the boy said, voice shaking. "If Molly can be pretty, so can I."  


The girl nodded, and Molly did too, not bothering to hide the tears that were forming in his eyes.  


"I think you're beautiful, darling," Molly said, almost choking on the words.  


The boy wrapped his thin arms around Molly and nodded into his chest. Molly didn't even mind that there were tears soaking into his shirt.  


Eventually the boy pulled away and he and the sister waved goodbye. Molly was left to kick himself for not giving them a little gold for the road. But mostly he thought about the look on that boy's face: so full of hope, love, admiration, and trust.  


He really was a beautiful kid. 

**Nott** : 

Nott hadn't meant to get separated from everyone else. She was just... looking. Just window shopping. Maybe pocketing a few things here and there. But mostly just looking. Definitely.  


She had gotten a bit distracted, apparently, because when she looked up from her next mark the rest of the group was gone. She panicked for a few seconds before she spotted Caleb's dirty brown coat and Molly's flashy rainbow one bobbing a little ways ahead of her. Nott sighed, moving to follow, before she felt a hand grip her arm.  


"Is- is this-" a soft voice said.  


Before the voice could continue, Nott hissed and wriggled her way out of her attacker's grasp. She had managed to stumble a few feet away when a man stepped out in front of her, effectively blocking her path.  


She was just getting out her wire to message Caleb when the voice spoke again.  


"Wait! We're not going to hurt you!" This time, Nott whipped around the face the voice, and her jaw almost dropped. In front of her was the prettiest halfling she had ever seen, with long dark hair pulled back in a ponytail and light brown skin. She smiled at Nott.  


"I'm- I'm sorry. That's my dad, right there," she said, pointing to the man in front of Nott. He nodded apologetically, stepping out of Nott's way should she want to run again.  


"What... what do you want from me," Nott asked, already sure that the answer had something to do with her dying horribly. Her copper wire still dangled in her hands, but she hadn't made the call yet.  


"What do I- what?" asked the halfling. She cocked her head to the side and looked at Nott strangely. "Well, I just wanted to say hello. I mean, you're part of the Mighty Nein after all! The coolest adventuring party in the country!"  


"Oh- you know about us?" Nott asked.  


The halfling nodded. "Of course! My friends all love to tell stories of how you defeated that Manticore and saved all those kids, or how you rescued all the children from a burning building-"  


"That doesn't really sound like us," Nott muttered. The halfling either didn't notice or didn't care.  


"So I wanted to say that I love the Mighty Nein a lot and I love you a lot and think you're great." The halfling nodded to herself. "And I think you're probably the best member of the Mighty Nein 'cause you're like really sneaky and that's so cool, I wish I could be sneaky like that!"  


Now it was Nott's turn to tilt her head to the side. "Wait- out of all the Mighty Nein, _I'm_ your favorite? I'm the coolest to you? What about- what about Caleb? He's really cool."  


The halfling giggled. "He's a weird, and he's always all broody all the time. I like you much better. You're even prettier than they said you were gonna be in person!"  


Nott's face turned red. "They- someone said that... that I was pretty?"  


"Of course you are!" the halfling shouted. "Your skin is GREEN, how cool is that? And your eyes are so pretty, like a cat's eyes." At this point the halfling's eyes stared straight into Nott's, eagerly drinking up any knowledge that Nott's eyes had to offer. And then, before Nott knew what was happening, the halfling girl was hugging her tightly.  


"I love you, Nott," she said. "Someday, I wanna be just like you."  


Then the halfling and her father hustled off somewhere together. Just like families should be.  


Nott floated on air the whole way back to the group, and didn't even think anything until that night, where the first thought in her head was: "I wanna be just like you." 

**Author's Note:**

> thank you for reading!!!! i totally started to fall asleep while writing Nott's part so i hope its still good.  
> love yall!!! <3


End file.
